Watch A Swarm Of High-Speed Micro-Robots Work Like Ants

Someday soon, micro-robots will be employed in their droves to manufacture things on a large scale. If you needed any proof that this notion isn't wishful science fiction, the video above should do just fine. Released by SRI International the video shows the research institution's magentically powered micro-robots performing a range of tasks inclduing climbing walls, taking swabs of glue and travelling at a speed of 35cm/s. These brilliant little machines are even able to work in complete harmony in staggering numbers, a fact that will no doubt raise the eyebrows of product manufacturers everywhere as they imagine swarms of the micro-bots creating a futuristic production line.

Indeed, product manufacturing is something that SRI envision the micro-bots being best placed to carry out. Microchips, and biotechnology are just a couple of the plans that the not-for-profit organization has for the micro-bots, but while the products they create may be small, the scale on which they could create them could be huge. Micro-Robots such as the ones being developed by SRI International, along with 3-D printing technology, could soon revolutionize the manufacturing industry by making mass-production quicker, and a great deal cheaper.